Announcement :From now on, Lost-In-Tyme will be devided into 4 different blogs depending on genre.All new albums will be posted to the related Lost-In-Tyme blog.We hope that you will find our effort interesting and worthy enough.

Trip-O-Meter: 4 out of 5The Millennium was a short lived project headed by sunshine pop producer extrodinaire, Curt Boettcher. Although the Begin album is Boettcher's baby, it is also very much the work of a functioning band. In fact, the members make up a sort of an obscuro 60's supergroup. Ron Edgar and Doug Rhodes joined in from the Music Machine ("Talk Talk"), and Sandy Salisbury was a holdover from the Ballroom project.Begin is truly a lost classic that has not yet recieved it's due. The basic sound of the disc harkens back to Beach Boy Brian Wilson's 1966-1968 productions. In fact, many moments of Begin stand up well to Pet Sounds and surpass the sunshine pop of later Beach Boys albums. Like Wilson's productions, Boettcher, along with co-producer Keith Olsen, created difficult to pick out instrumental combination, and use potential dissonance to create a wall of sound. The band also uses many other sounds, such as raga singing, steel drums, and sound effects, to create amazing atmospherics.

The opening medley of "Prelude" and "To Claudia On Thursday" (the latter of which makes me think of 90's psych poppers The Olivia Tremor Control) reveal production that was state-of-the-art for its time, including compressed drums and full use of stereo range. The tripped out folk sound is similar to The Byrds The Notorious Byrd Brothers (produced by Usher), but to my ears surpass even that enviable achievement. "I Just Want To Be Your Friend," "5 A.M.," and "It's You" all stand out as should-have-been singles, but the full impact of The Millenium can be found in the tracks "The Island" and "Karmic Dream Sequence #1." Both of these songs have stellar hooks, but are far too weird even for singles. "The Island" creates a tropical lysergic sound. The songs seems as much a threat as an invitation. The band pulls out all of the stops for "Karmic Dream Sequence #1." Starting off as a hazy ballad similar to Crosby's songs for The Byrds and Jefferson Airplane, things start to collapse into a wild sound collage, even sampling "Prelude" from the start of the album.

Unlike most sunshine pop concoctions, the lyrical content of Begin holds up to scrutiny. Many tracks, especially "The Island," "It's You," and "There Is Nothing More To Say" have almost a strange cult-like ambiance. As "There Is Nothing More To Say" admits, "There is something that you hear in so many of our songs, but it's something that we want you to know." The album slowly reveals it's spiritual convictions, but the details of their philosophy is never quite ironed out. It's an interesting precursor to the modern psychedelic cult pop of The Polyphonic Spree.

Just as a fun fact, the cover of this set was designed by Arni Geller. Geller's other album art was for the similarly styled, but more colorful Friends by The Beach Boys.

If you haven't already heard it, I can give The Millennium's Begin my highest recommendation. The version here sports much better sound than the Columbia Records CD from the early 90's. The LP is still occassionally in print (I bought a new copy on vinyl last month) and would be worth seeking out.

Ronnie Von was, and still is, a star in Brazil. Although now he conducts television shows of dubious cultural content (reality shows and alike), he started off with music. Let's be honest, most of his stuff was crap, like his first album which is full of Beatles covers and lacks any interest. But later... during the psychedelic era, he released three of my favourite albums. A trilogy which in terms of quality (and not so much in terms of musical style) can be compared to Mutantes. Why they have been overlooked in such way, I don't know. Very nicely produced, with incredible song composition and lyrics, those are three records to be listened carefully.

Originals are kind of rare, and really rare if you look for copies in good shape. They were reissued some time ago on LP (not on CD as far as I know) and I think they are still available, so if you like them you can get them (greeks out there check Anazitisi , and I think Guerssen has them too). Well... please listen to them and I really hope you will like them. If you don't, listen to them again. Oh.. and excuse the poor sound quality.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

US psych, acid rock and garage. Blessed End were from Philadelphia and this debut album was originally recorded in 1971, while still in high school . Sounding like The Doors, thanks mainly to the strong doomy vocals and prominent flowing keyboard sound.

Great organ led psycher LP, private press and borderlining on "real people".....Vocalist sounds like that fucker from The Doors, and the vocals themselves are mixed waaaay to loud.....but, still this is pretty good....the songs seem kind of 'throwaway' at first, but eventually really stick.....I wish the guitars were mixed louder....cheesy lyrics like the above really add to the charm.....

Tracks

1. Nightime Rider2. Someplace To Hide3. Is It Time4. Sometimes You Got To Be Strong5. Movin' On6. Day Before Tomorrow7. Dead Man8. Can't Be Without Her9. One Stop Woman10. Escape Train11. Can't Be Without Her - (previously unreleased, bonus track)

One of the few major late-'60s bands who were not often copied (at least well) was the Doors, perhaps because the disparate elements that made up the group were so complex and difficult to assimilate by a group of teenagers, and probably because there weren't too many Jim Morrisons, even in the tumult of the times. No teenager could match Morrison's combination of brilliance and b.s., poetry and pretension, and few bands could match the powerfully-ominous instrumental attack of Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger, and John Densmore. One of the best of the Doors understudies was Blessed End. Their only album, Movin' On, may not be as strong as anything the Doors created, but that is an unfair comparison to begin with. What the album is, though, is a solid collection of garage-pop songs with foreboding subject matter, considering the band members' youth. Steve Quinzi's organ lines are not as complex and menacing as Manzarek's, but they are often catchy in their frat-rock (think "96 Tears") way. Mike Petrylak's drumming is not as precise and commanding as Densmore's, but it holds down the music nonetheless. Jim Shugart's guitar work is mostly steady and unobtrusive, and is not really trying to stand up to Krieger's idiosyncratic psychedelic-flamenco-blues. And, of course, Doug Teti is not the Lizard King, but he does possess a booming (in the mold of Bob Mosley or Jack Bruce), tormented baritone that looms over the music. The argument could be made that Tetiwas more Gary Puckett than Jim Morrison, but Puckett never sounded as threatening, and his music never had the exuberant garage amateurishness that Blessed End's showed. Of course, the music is not completely melancholy. Sustaining that type of atmosphere necessitates a certain degree of physical or emotional destructiveness, as Morrison demonstrated. Movin' On shows elements of blues (Teti's Bruce-like wail on "Escape Train"), but there is ultimately a buoyant rather than somber feeling to their music in spite of its fair share of gloom. The opening one-two punch of "Nightime Rider" and "Someplace To Hide" may be constructed out of minor chords, but the music chugs along enthusiastically instead of broodingly. Throughout the album Teti sings about death, being alone, and hateful women, but repeated listening reveals it to be less sinister and more a manifestation of imaginative angst.

This Was Christine McVie's First solo album, it was relesed just after she left Chicken Shack but before she joined Fleetwood Mac. The Album Contained the hit single "I'd Rather Go Blind" from Christine's days with Chicken Shack.

Chicken Shack

In 1968 a friend of Christine told her that her ex-bandmate Andy Sylvester and Stan Webb were forming a blues band and were looking for pianist, so she wrote to them asking to join them. A few days later they replied, inviting her to play keyboards/piano and sing background vocals in their band Chicken Shack. Christine stayed with Chicken Shack for 2 albums and together they scored the top 10 British hit "I'd Rather Go Blind" with Christine on lead vocals. She was also given a Melody Maker award for female vocalist of the year, and she was lauded for having one of the "top 10 pairs of legs in all of Britain". Christine left Chicken Shack in 1969 after meeting Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie.

Fleetwood Mac

Christine was a big fan of Fleetwood Mac at the time and while touring with Chicken Shack the two bands would often run into each other. Encouraged to continue her career, she recorded a solo album, Christine Perfect. As Christine McVie, she joined Fleetwood Mac in 1970, just after marrying Fleetwood Mac bass guitarist John McVie. She had already contributed backup vocals, played keyboards, and painted the cover for Kiln House. The band had just lost founding member Peter Green and its members were nervous about touring without him. McVie had been a huge fan of the Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac, and since she knew all the lyrics to their songs, she went along. McVie quickly became an essential member of the group and the author of some of its finest songs, a position she would continue to hold for nearly 25 years.

- Phantom -- vocals, guitar, keyboards- X -- drums, percussion- Y -- bass- Z -- keyboardsBordering on novelty sounds with overblown Lizard King vocals and a goofy fairytale concept, but is somehow well-done enough to be enjoyable. Lots of fuzz and dramatic mood changes plus almost inaudible spoken parts between the songs that few people have discovered (the vinyl re possibly omits these). Their manager claimed it to feature Jim Morrison on vocals which ensured a rapid journey down the cutout trail. In addition to this LP there is a "Lost Album" with recordings that may predate the Capitol album. The tapes have been bootlegged in Italy on vinyl (Ghost, 1989) and CD (Flash, 1997) and display an unexceptional Brit-inspired prog/folk sound. [PL]~~~see also -> Happy Dragon Band~~~

Track List :01 So Much02 60 Seconds Swinger03 In The Air04 Plenty Of Trouble05 I Did My Part06 The Way It Used To Be07 The Hot Dog Man08 Perils Of Pauline09 The Hot Rod Song10 I Wish I Could Sing Soul Music11 Knock On Wood12 Summertime

The NIGHT SHADOWS(aka Little Phil & The Night Shadows)

The Night Shadows were originally organized in December 1956 as The Cavaliers. The spelling was changed to The Kavaliers in 1957 to avoid legal problems with another group using that name. After some personnel changes in the summer of 1959 the group became The Barons. In the fall of 1959 the lead guitarist wrote an instrumental he called Night Shadows that the bass player thought was the perfect name for their Blues group. Assuming leadership of the band and against everyone's wishes, he changed their name to The Night Shadows on their business cards and quickly booked several months of gigs to make everyone relent. He also hired a front man for the group. From the fall of 1959 through 1961 The Night Shadows were primarily a Chicago-style Blues band featuring Bobby "Bones" Jones, a rowdy harp playing, skinny James Dean look-alike. Like the old-time blues men of the past, Jones went to prison for an alleged assault on someone with a brick mason's hammer. He later lost three toes to frostbite passing out drunk in ten-degree weather on the bed of a pick-up truck. He still writes blues tunes as Sweet Papa Jones.

In 1962 the group changed to a Rhythm & Blues show band featuring Little Erv (Barocas) & Judy (Argo), an Elizabeth Taylor look-alike, as headliners. For the next two years, the group became one of the one most popular R&B bands for Southern college dances and formals since Black R&B (or "Beach) acts were considered "crude frat party bands" by snobbish southern faculty and alumni. In 1964 the English invasion changed the group's primary direction to Rock relegating R&B, now called (East Coast) Beach Music to secondary importance. Little Erv quit the music business to get married and Judy Argo became a jazz diva appearing on NBC's Tonight Show before a purported suicide attempt in New York derailed her career.

When14-year old Little Phil (Rosenberg) was picked as their replacement to front the group, the other band members thought their leader "had lost it" since they were all in their early twenties. Over their protests of playing "nursemaid to a snot-nosed kid", he knew that Little Phil could do "James Brown type" choreography as well as sing Rock, Blues and Soul songs. His gamble paid off, and 1965 turned into a watershed year for the Night Shadows. Johnny Brooks, a studio engineer and producer Janoulis had worked with on sessions since 1959, had opened his own recording facility and was seeking artists with original material. This gave the group an opportunity to record both the tunes Little Phil had collaborated on and some others that Janoulis had written. The end result was a label deal with Dot Records, a very successful record company owned by Paramount Pictures in Hollywood, California. The single "So Much" featured Little Phil as lead singer. The other band members were Jimmy Callaway (guitar), Bobby Newell (organ), Charles Spinks (drums) and Aleck Janoulis (bass). Everything seemed to be going their way until the "conflict" in Viet Nam suddenly escalated into "war" and all able-bodied, single men between the ages of 18 to 26 were made eligible for the draft. Little Phil was still in high school and Janoulis, Spinks, and Newell were all in college. If the group left school permanently they would all be drafted except for Little Phil who was only 16. This prevented any extensive traveling to promote the record. As the record reached the Top Ten in three states, a corporate decision to make the record company a Country oriented label stopped all pop and rock promotion dead in its tracks. Their follow up single "60 Second Swinger" was permitted to be released on Gaye Records and featured a full color sleeve. Due to contractual obligations the group then recorded for Baja Records under the pseudonym "The Square Root of Two". This became the title of their classic 1968 psychedelic album on Spectrum Stereo which now sells for over $1200 to record collectors. Due to internal conflicts the band split up after their last concert on Memorial Day in 1969. Teen-age guitar prodigy, Barry Bailey, performed with the group in their final months (Ref: "Live At The Spot") and later went on to form the hit-making Atlanta Rhythm Section. Janoulis formed the group Starfoxx in 1974 that had a nationally charted hit "Disco Rock" in 1977 and, as Big Al Jano, released the anti-AIDS cult single, "The Condom Man", in 1987, based on the Night Shadows 1961 blues single, "The Garbage Man". Little Phil was lead singer for Kudzu and Bandit in the 1970's and has recently been recording some new material in the studio. Incredibly, Little Phil and the Night Shadows are still selling records and CDs to collectors all across the globe.

This is the first new release by Simon Finn after 30 years, and it’s nice to see nothing of his honest slightly open-emotional playing has changed over the years. The songs are more sparsely arranged, but with well played acoustic guitar, and just some flute and violin by Joolie Wood. The songs don’t really need much more to sound good. The emotionality from the early album and songs concerns are the same. The song perspective has matured, while Simon's essential nature remains unchanged. I wish all singer-songwriters had this kind of musical stability, even when it has its own specific tiny human so called "unstable" aspects that make it even better, more human, and which gives it an integral musicality. Just the kind of "raw" "inner struggle" to speak out of an earlier age, is now more tempered. It's not replaced by something like a different vision but by continuity strength in grabbing its own visions. Well done.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

This a beautiful album by english folk singer Pete Atkin. Pete sung and wrote the music and Clive James the words (don't let that put you off, its fantastic). All the songs tell a great story along with some very fine backing by the likes of Herbie Flowers, Barry Morgan, Chris Spedding etc.

Checkout "No Dice" I love this song to bits!

01 Sunlight Gate02 The Pearl Driller03 No Dice04 The Flowers and the Wine05 Where Have They All Gone06 The Prince of Aquitaine07 Thief in the Night08 Driving Through Mythical09 Faded Mansion on the Hill10 Practical Man11 Lady of a Day

Allmusic review :Comus' first album contains an imaginative if elusive brand of experimental folk-rock, with a tense and sometimes distressed vibe. Although there are elements of traditional British folk music, there's an edginess to the songwriting and arrangements that would be entirely alien in a Fairport Convention or Pentangle disc. At times, this straddles the border between folk-rock and the kind of songs you'd expect to be sung at a witches' brew fest, the haunting supernatural atmosphere enhanced by bursts of what sound like a theramin-like violin, hand drums, flute, oboe, ghostly female backup vocals, and detours into almost tribal rhythms. All of this might be making the album sound more attractive than it is; the songs are extremely elongated and fragmented, and the male vocals often have a grating munchkin-like quality, sometimes sounding like a wizened Marc Bolan. The lyrics are impenetrable musings, mixing pastoral scenes of nature with images of gore, torture, madness, and even rape, like particularly disturbing myths being set to music. It's been reissued on CD, but here's one case where you might want to get the LP reissue (on Get Back) instead, as it comes with a bonus 12" of three songs in a similar vein as their rare 1971 EP.

Desoriented urban college dorm hippie-folk album with some good and strange tracks like "Angels in her walk" that go deep, and a pretty interesting LP all over. Actually a various artists college project LP from NYC but usually referred to only as "Tool Shed". [PL]

The Mystery Trend's place in music history exists in a strange twilight. I suppose that they're best known for having a place on the Nuggets box set (with their lone single "Johnny Was A Good Boy") and for naming their band off of misinterpreted lyrics out of Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" (they should more accurately be The Mystery Tramps). Otherwise, they are now basically a footnote to the San Francisco scene, but still they were there at the start of the scene, playing along with the early Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead. The band unfortunately never really found an opportunity to put out any more than a Verve Records single, and this compilation consists of their entire recorded output, the vast majority of which was unreleased until the 1990's. As this is basically everything, it's a little spotty. But the high points are truly spectaular, however, and I feel like if The Mystery Trend had found the opportunity to put together a proper album, it may have been a true classic.

The Mystery Trend does share some similarities with their San Francisco bretheren. The vocal sound is extremely strong and layered, often resembling the Jefferson Airplane at their best. The winding guitar leads also recalls many of the bands from that era. There's a freak-folky sound right in line with the Dead and the Airplane's debut albums. If you're open to the San Francisco scene, there is definitely something here to grab your attention.

The true charm, however, rests in the little differences. The Mystery Trend was a bit older than the rest of the crowd and skipped over some West Coast psychedelic pitfalls. First off, jamming was completely ignored by The Mystery Trend. They were truly fascinated by the art of the pop song, and their strong writing (usually in the hands of keyboardist.vocalist Ron Nagle and guitarist/vocalist Bob Cuff) often recalls that of Burt Bacharach or the Brill Building. Only one track here passes the three minute mark, and that one only makes it to four.

Standing out even more is The Mystery Trend's atypical sound. Psychedelia in general relies on quite a bit of reverb and echo to create a strange vibe. The guitars here are very dry and brittle sounding. Still, they manage to cut right through the powerful rhythm section to make a strong impression. This sound is mixed with Ron Nagle's also bone-dry clavinet. The band may be playing the same notes as their more-poular peers, but the sound ends up being very different. If nothing else, this makes their recordings worth a listen or two. For a fun comparison pair their cover of the Who's "Substitute" along with the original.

The songs, while often strong, remain a mixed bag. This is understandable as this disc is the band's complete recordings and they were never trying to produce an entire album. Both sides of their only single, which included "Johnny Was A Good Boy" and "House On The Hill," are standouts. Even better still are the should-have-been single "Carl Street" (presented in two versions), the lyrically biting "Mercy Killing," and the Bacharach influenced "There It Happened Again." These high points make up for some of the lesser tracks like the dull instrumental "Mambo For Marion," and the annoying "Carrots On A String" (which also shows up twice for some reason). The otherwise average "Shame, Shame, Shame" is notable for including what must be one of the earliest uses of a wah pedal on guitar.

If you can track this one down, So Glad I Found You is a worthwhile and important release that clears up some of the smoke surrounding this formerly enigmatic band from the initial burst of San Francisco psychedelia.

Yes, Kensington Market were one of the most well-respected groups on the scene in late-1960s Canada; yes, this album came out on a big label (Warner Brothers); and yes, it was produced by a major figure, Felix Pappalardi, then hot with Cream. This doesn't mean, though, that this is anything more than a very ordinary late-1960s rock LP, leaning towards the gentle pop/rock side without being too mainstream. In keeping with the times, a lot of attention was paid to varying the styles and arrangements, from airy-fairy pop-psychedelia ("Looking Glass") and jugbandish good-time rock with echoes of the Lovin' Spoonful ("Beatrice") to folk-rock-pop ("Speaking of Dreams" is rather like 1966-1967 Elektra-produced folk-rock with a poppier slant) and somberly orchestrated, introspective tunes that never lost sight of pop harmonies and vague psychedelic sentiments. The tunes just weren't outstanding, though, from either vocal or compositional perspectives, and the group didn't have a personality to set them apart from much similar middling pop/rock on the market in 1968. Kensington Market were artier, more ambitious, and somewhat more melancholic than the typical good-time group of the era, but not so much so that the album demands rediscovery. ~by Richie Unterberger

Kensington Market was a Toronto, Canada based rock band, active from 1967-1969. Named after a downtown Toronto neighbourhood, it was formed by singer/songwriter and guitarist Keith McKie (born November 20, 1947 in St Albans, England, immigrated to Canada in April 1953), formely with The Vendettas, with guitarist and pianist Eugene Martynec (born March 28, 1947 in Germany) from Bobby Kris & The Imperials. The original line up was completed with former Vendettas' bass player Alex Darou (born January 6, 1943 in Sault St. Marie, Ontario) and drummer Jimmy Watson (born August 23, 1950, Belfast, Northern Ireland). Former Luke & The Apostles frontman, singer/songwriter Luke Gibson (born November 5, 1946 in Toronto) was added later in 1967, and the synthesizer player John Mills-Cockell (born May 19, 1943 in Toronto) was a member in 1969.

Brought together around May 1967 by musical entrepreneur Bernie Finkelstein, the Market debuted at the Night Owl on June 4 and performed initially in Toronto coffeehouses like the Red Gas Room and high schools. In mid-August, after the dissolution of "Luke And The Apostles", the Market recruited Luke Gibson by which time they had already released two singles for Stone Records. These singles achieved minimal success but Finkelstein was able to sign them to Warner Brothers in New York City. In 1968, the Market did the soundtrack to the NFB film "The Ernie Game." Later that year, they released the album Avenue Road(Produced by Felix Pappalardi), followed by a tour of the United States. In 1969, keyboardist John Mills-Cockell joined, and their follow-up, 'Aardvark', was released, once again produced by Pappalardi, followed by their second US tour. However, this wasn't done in enough time to save the splintering band who split that same year.

Not to be confused with the new Japanese band this Birmingham collective recorded their only album in 1970, which displays a lot of influences. West Coast US acid rock, early progressive music and folk all rub shoulders on this polished album, originals of which are now highly sought after by collectors.

Great Airplane like male/female vocals..

Tracks

1. When You’re Dead (4:25)2. Hearts And Flowers (2:54)3. In Heaven (3:21)4. Time Is My Enemy (4:06)5. Too Late To Cry (5:04)6. For One Second (5:25)7. Night Of The Warlock (4:22)8. Indian Maid (4:21)9. My Castle Has Fallen (2:57)10. The Storm (3:36)11. Me And My Loved Ones (4:09)12. I’ve Got To Get To Know You (4:02)

The Ghost formed in Birmingham in the late sixties. They started out playing a heavish sort of blues-rock before they met up with singer Shirley Kent who'd already recorded two tracks on a charity EP, The Master Singers And Shirley Kent Sing For Charec 67 (Keele University 103) in 1966. Paul Eastment had earlier played in Velvett Fogg.

They recorded their album at the end of 1969, spawning their first 45 at the end of the year. When You're Dead was a strong song with a clear US West Coast influence. It was hardly Chart material, though, so predictably sales were poor. The album came out in January 1970. There's a clear contrast between the folk pieces that Shirley Kent sings on like Hearts And Flowers and Time Is My Enemy, which in style recall Sandy Denny's heyday in Fairport Convention, and the blues-rock numbers contributed by the rest of the band, of which For One Second sounds the strongest. Also worth checking out is the powerful Too Late To Cry. The album has now become a major collector's item, partly on account of its rarity but also on account of the breadth of its appeal to fans of both blues-rock and folk.

The band returned to the studio in Spring 1970 to record I've Got To Get To Know You. Another track from their album, For One Second, was put on the flip, but when the 45 failed to sell the band slowly began to fall apart. Shirley Kent left to pursue a solo career and eventually released an album in 1975, Fresh Out, under the pseudonym Virginia Tree. I haven't heard it but it's reputedly folkier than Ghost's output and featured former band members Paul Eastment and Terry Guy on three of the tracks. After Kent's departure, the remaining band members soldiered on for a while using the name Resurrection but this later incarnation of the band didn't make it onto vinyl.

I'm not completely familiar with this one yet and have not reviewed it yet, but there was a request in the Bananamour comments, so here it is. The following review is from the All Music Guide, but they don't seem to like it much. They gave it 2 stars, but my first impression is that this is probably another 4 star album.

From All Music:

Following the release of his solo debut, Joy of a Toy, Kevin Ayers created the Whole World to take the album on the road. In retrospect, the band was a kind of Brit supergroup, comprised of young Mike Oldfield (bass/guitar), Lol Coxhill (sax), Mick Fincher (drums, occasionally subbed by Robert Wyatt), and David Bedford (keys/arrangements). Following the tour, the band found itself in the studio, and in October 1970 Ayers introduced the world to the Whole World with the release of his follow-up, Shooting at the Moon. A snapshot of the era, the album is saturated with original ideas, experimentation, and lunacy, all powered by the bottled grape. It is this very "headiness" that propels and simultaneously hinders the work, resulting in a project overflowing with potential, much of which remained underdeveloped. Flushed and flustered, the band dissolved a little more than a year after it formed, leaving only Moon as its legacy. Somewhere on The Moon is a solid, unique pop record; however, Ayers and producer Peter Jenner (known for his production of Roy Harper's best '70s output) have presented the material in the guise of progressive, arty rock. Shorn of its excesses, meanderings and filler, Moon is easily one of Ayers' better releases. As it stands, the album serves more as a curiosity piece peppered with some of Ayers' best pop tunes in early stages, not yet molded by later collaborations and live performances. Ayers' music is at its zenith when he's crooning (in his lovely, flat baritone) warm, daft ditties, so simplistic yet singular in nature. Moon is blessed with several of these: the uninhibited concert staple, "May I?"; "The Oyster and the Flying Fish," a folky duet with Bridget Saint John that foreshadows Ayers' 1974 collaboration with Campbell Cramer (aka Lady June); and Ayers' timeless classic, "Clarence in Wonderland," in one of its shortest (at only two minutes) incarnations. Written on the beach in 1966, this whimsical ditty is a carefree summer's day in a capsule. No songs in Ayers' discography are more representative of his amiable musical nature than these. But Ayers' pop songs are embedded in lengthier structures, overwhelmed and obscured by the framework of the album. The band's prog-like excursions -- "Rheinhardt and Geraldine," "Pisser Dans un Violon," and the atmospheric "Underwater" -- are interesting at times, but ultimately come off as unfocused filler that serves to frustrate the listener (note the end of "Rheinhardt"). In particular, "Pisser" and the album's title track (a reworking of the Soft Machine's "Jet Propelled Photograph") are very much in the tradition of early British avant-garde fusion; ripe with free or loose structures, providing a fertile ground for unbridled improv that often lacks payoff.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

By the time of this release, Kevin Ayers had spent far more time as a solo artist than as part of the Soft Machine. The sound here still occassionally recalls that band, but there is a much more folky quality permeating much of this disc and the songwriting here is much stronger than his first solo recordings. Still, Ayers does not strive for any kind of unified vibe here. We find a psychedelic drone-fest along side an attempt to recreate a Stax Records sound. It's a little hit or miss, and probably less than the sum of its parts, but fortunately most of the parts are pretty strong. Production-wise, Bananamour recalls other albums of it's time, especially glam rockers like T. Rex and Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie, but Ayers sensibilities mostly remain in the 60's.

Ayers' for the most part does a fine job balancing his own psych-folk muse with concessions to glam rock and a singer-songwriter sound on Bananamour. The opening "Don't Let It Get You Down (For Rachel)" is a solidly constructed example with the core song very much recalls Carnaby Street pop, but the female vocals, watery guitar, and fluid bass guitar shift the vibe a little more into the 70's. Many of the best tracks here follow an acoustic template with perhaps a nod or two to contemporary sounds. "Shouting In A Bucket Blues" is a rolling number with great sad sack lyrics and a touch of glam guitar from Gong's Steve Hillage. Later we find "Oh! Wot A Dream" recalling some of Dylan's dream lyrics filtered through Ayers' Cambridge sensibilites and featuring a duck sound on the rhythm track. Although the Soft Machine is firmly in Ayers past, band alumni Mike Ratledge shows up on organ for the somewhat derivative "Interview" (although some strange dissonance and amusing lyrics save this sort of bluesy number), while Robert Wyatt provides harmony vocals to the lilting "Hymn."

The centerpiece and perhaps best track on the album is also somewhat of an anamoly. "Decadance" drones along with almost a kraut-rock vibe, with a bed of delayed guitars, droning analog synths (maybe these were borrowed from Gong too?), and mostly metronomic beats. It's by far the most psychedelic song on the album, and Ayers' absurdist lyrics completely match the music. There's an alternate mix of "Decadence" in the bonus section that is interesting for a comparison, but inferior to the album version and not essential.

The only misstep is the aforementioned Stax knockoff, "When Your Parents Go To Sleep." First off, bassist Archie Leggett gets the lead vocal instead of Ayers and this obscures much of the charm of Ayers' lyrics. The big problem is that the five minute track seriously disrupts the flow of the album, and probably would have been better as a B-side. This is not to say it's a bad song. There's a groovy horn section here and the rhythm section works hard to live up to an MGs sort of vibe. It would have been a great B-side, but sticks out like a sore thumb in the context of Bananamour. I'd probably enjoy "Interview" much more if this track did not precede it.

The album proper concludes with the majestically orchestrated, bad joke of a song (literally and intentionally) "Beware Of The Dog." It a silly track, but short and a perfect way for Ayers to end his album. It's kind of like Ayers' version of the Looney Tunes "T-That's All Folks" closer.

Excluding the alternate mix, the bonus tracks here reveal a unexpected obsession with tropical islands, reggae, and calypso. "Take Me To Tahiti" and "Carribean Moon" reference this directly in their titles while "Connie On A Rubber Band" is arranged with a reggae beat. All three are predictable breezy and make for an enjoyable sundrenched aural dessert after Bananamour.

Ayers' would soon depart Harvest Records to work out his prog-rock mojo on Island Records. Bananamour was an undeserved commercial flop and in fact Ayers would never experience any large scale success. This is unfortunate as Bananamour is a strong testament to his songwriting skills.

Gravy Train were a Rock group from Lancashire, England, formed by vocalist and guitarist Norman Barratt in 1970. Together with J.D. Hughes (keyboards, vocals, wind), Lester Williams (bass, vocals) and Barry Davenport (Drums) they made 4 studio albums. The first 2 were released under the label Vertigo and the latter 2 by Dawn Records.

The band was dissolved in 1974. Little is known what happened with its members except for Norman Barratt who appeared in Mandalaband for their second and last album in 1978. He went on to found the Barratt Band, which recorded albums in the early 1980s.

There is a big confusion concerning Norman Barratt or Norman Barrett, who is credited so in Vertigo releases.

Starting like your typical Vertigo act, Gravy Train's first album sounds faintly like early Jethro Tull, mainly due to similar flute lines, but without a dominating personality like Ian Anderson. Hard-rock riffing is alternated with more quiet and melodic moments and the flute is high in the mix throughout. The tracks are not at all "folky" as some dealers' lists describe them. Some of the music sounds like any old power trio. A nice track is "Dedication To Syd" (Barrett), a quiet but highly atmospheric experimental piece.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

One of the legendary 'food bands' of the late 60s acid boom (alongside Strawberry Alarm Clock, Electric Prunes, Chocolate Watch Band, Lemon Pipers, Vanilla Fudge etc) the Conspiracy sprang from the same folk rock roots as their contemporaries Jefferson Airplane (with whom they shared a drummer, Spencer Dryden) under the name of the Ashes, hence the title of this fine 26-track compilation. It's a great set of previously unreleased PBC demos and outtakes including tracks by The Ashes. Compiled with the full cooperation of the band, and laden with pix and scribblings from the era, this is a West Coast psych-lovers' technicolor dream.

They sound like a cross between the Mamas and Papas and the Byrds with a bit of Airplane thrown in for good measure...but end up sounding quite unique ..a large part due to the beautiful voice of Sandi Robison.

It is also the strength of the songs...very melodic... and the lyrics are rarely hippy drippy and often quite insightful.

Very similiar to Jefferson Airplane( female vocalist male backing members- drummer of PBC was lured to the Airplane-etc). Comparisons aside- this is excellent well written with great vocals from female singer Sandy who has since passed on. The songs are steeped deep in the San Fransisco sound- part pysche-part acid rock pastoral folk. For psyche summer of love "hippie" or sixties fans its a must own.

Tracks1 Turn on a Friend (To the Good Life) 2:212 Lonely Leaf 3:533 Pleasure 3:264 Too Many Do 6:345 Living, Loving Life 3:206 Invasion of the Poppy People 0:407 Captain Sandwich 2:108 Living Dream 4:209 Ecstacy 6:1910 Time Is After You 3:0411 Wonderment 4:12

Bonus12 I'm a Fool 2:3613 It's So Hard 2:3314 Peter Pan 3:17

The Great Conspiracy (1968) -- the second long-player from the Los Angeles-based Peanut Butter Conspiracy -- was much more of a reflection of their live sound as compared to their debut effort, the pop-driven Peanut Butter Conspiracy Is Spreading (1967). The quintet was literally born circa 1964 out of the Ashes, another burgeoning L.A. rock combo whose personnel featured soon-to-be Jefferson Airplane drummer Spencer Dryden. After solidifying the lineup of Lance Fent (guitar), Jim Voight (drums), Al Brackett (bass), John Merrill (guitar), and Barbara "Sandi" Robinson (vocals), they inked a deal with Columbia Records, which assigned staff producer Gary Usher to work with them. His well-meaning but over the top production style diffused the band, which came off sounding more like the Mamas & the Papas than the Jefferson Airplane or It's a Beautiful Day -- both of whom also sported female lead singers. However, by the time of this release the Conspiracy were sonically asserting themselves with a decidedly hipper approach. This is especially evident on the stretched-out and psychedelic "Too Many Do" and the deliciously trippy "Ecstasy" -- which sports frenzied and wiry fretwork similar to that of Quicksilver Messenger Service string man John Cipollina. Equally inspired are "Lonely Leaf" and the somewhat paranoid and darkly guilded "Time Is After You." These contrast the somewhat ersatz hippie fodder "Turn on a Friend (To the Good Life)," the 38-second throwaway "Invasion of the Poppy People," or the simply wretched "Captain Sandwich."

Monday, May 21, 2007

BIOCanadian Icon singer/guitarist from the late ‘60s. Billboard Magazine picked 'A Spoonful Of Cathy Young' as it's 'Pick of the Week' in 1969.Young received Juno Award for 'Most Promising Female Vocalist 1973' in March, 1974.She was also nominated for a Juno Award in the category of 'Best Female Artist 1974' in March, 1975.

Young toured consistently from 1979 to 1995 and diversified into Theatre & Television work including roles in the Canadian touring version of 'Jesus Christ Superstar' (as Mary Magdalene) and vocal work on 'Rita MacNeil & Friends'.She has also been a featured performer on various 5 Star Cruise Lines, and at the highest rated hotels in the world including the Sheraton in Hong Kong , the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok , and The Annabelle Hotel in Cyprus...........................................................I have been blessed to be able to travel this earth and meet so many unforgettable human beings along the way. I must credit the gift I have received, the music in my heart.Music is a precious treasure and it has afforded me all the opportunities to experience this amazing world of ours.We can communicate with each other through the Universal language that is music... may the music bring you Peace.xoCathyhttp://cathyyoungmusic.com/

Four hippies go to India in the 1960's, stay for two years & then return to the San Francisco Bay area & this would be the outcome.

With Peter Van Gelder (ex-Great Society) after the long trip to India.Cosmic sitar folk and psych, trippy female & male vocals, chanting in English and Hindu, lots of ethnic instruments.An early example of a genre that would become common during the 1970's.

The LP was picked up by UNI (73116) and re-released in 1971 with a new and less blatantly druggy cover.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Based on sheer musical ability, the Q 65 deserved to be at least as well known as the Pretty Things or the Yardbirds. Indeed, the Dutch quintet could have held their own with either of those groups or the Animals without breaking a sweat, based on the recorded evidence, and they also had room for some of the more countrified blues evident in the work of the Downliners Sect. Yet the Q 65 have remained one of Europe's best-kept star caliber musical secrets for more than 30 years. The Q 65 were Frank Nuyens (guitar, vocals, sax, flute, harmonica), Wim Bieler (vocals, harmonica), Peter Vink (bass), Joop Roelofs (guitar), and Jay Baar drums, who first got together in 1965, in the Hague. The city was known as "the Liverpool of the Netherlands," with a music scene that had been thriving since the end of the 1950s.

Instrumental groups, patterned after the sound of the Shadows had been very big at that time. Peter Vink and Jay Baar had been playing in a blues-based band called Leadbelly's Limited before they hooked up with Wim Bieler, Frank Nuyens, and Joop Roelofs to form the 65 in February of 1965. The group's professed influences were American soul acts like Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, and Otis Redding, yet somehow, when they performed, what they played came out closer in form and spirit to the likes of the Pretty Things, the Downliners Sect, and the Yardbirds than it did to any of those soul acts, at least at first. They landed a recording contract with Phonogram, a unit of Philips Records, late that year, and put on the Decca label. Their first single, "You 're the Victor," was released in February of 1966. This was a strange record for a band professing an admiration of Sam & Dave or Wilson Pickett, a frantically paced piece of punk-style blues-rock with an infectious Bo Diddley beat, screaming, raspy vocals, and a savage attack on their instruments. The single made No. 11 on the charts in Holland rode the bestseller lists for 13 weeks. The B-side, another original called "And Your Kind," was a more low-key, relaxed piece of blues-rock with slightly more of a soulful feel, but also some crunchy punk guitar.

In May of 1966, with the group now primed for success (including a full-time manager working for them), they released their second single, "The Life I Live." This was a more soulful record that built almost bolero-like in intensity. It was a good enough record to get Phonogram's management interested in promoting the group in England, which led to a publicity stunt that was not only a waste of time, but utterly foolish, sending the group to England by boat and having them come ashore in a rubber lifeboat, a though they'd come across the ocean that way. They were then supposed to play a gig, but as nobody had secured work permits, the group was only able to pose for photographs and press interviews before returning to the Netherlands. The Q 65 were greeted at the shore in Schevenning when they landed (again manning the lifeboat to land) by 30,000 fans, and ended up playing a gig right there at the pier. The band may not have done much for themselves in England, but they garnered a top 10 hit in the Netherlands.

With two successful singles under their belt, the group debut album, Revolution, followed in 1966. Revolution was a powerful blues-rock album that included a snarling rendition of Willie Dixon's "Down in the Bottom," a rendition of Dixon's "Spoonful" that boasted gloriously crunchy acoustic guitars behind a raspy vocal worthy of Howlin' Wolf himself, and a funky version of Allen Toussaint's "Get Out of My Life, Woman," and a handful of originals that were fully competitive with the covers. The highlight, however, was a riveting 14 minute version of Sonny Boy Williamson II's "Bring It On Home." The album sold 35000 copies, a respectable number in the Netherlands, and established group sufficiently to rate a spot playing with the Small Faces, the Spencer Davis Group, the Kinks, and the Pretty Things when they toured Holland.

During 1967, they didn't release any LPs, but did get a solid extended-play single out called Q Blues, which did well at home. Their music during this period reached what was arguably its peak—"Ain't That Lovin' You Babe" is a garage-punk classic worthy of the best American bands of the period, while their version of "Ramblin' On My Mind" thunders and surges with ferocious energy. They were unique in their approach, mixing the sounds of saxes and even an ocarina—an instrument virtually unknown in rock away from the Troggs—into country and Chicago-style blues. The group continued trying to make it as a blues-rock band for most of 1967. Their sound began to change late in the year, just as music was turning psychedelic, and around the time just before Wim Bieler was drafted into the army. His exit heralded the end of the Q 65's classic period. Nuyens, Baar, and Roelofs hooked up with Herman Brood (piano, vocals) and Henk Smitskamp (vocals, bass) to form a new, more psychedelic oriented outfit, which eventually evolved into a group called Circus, which lasted, in varying line-ups, for the year of 1968. Peter Vink, meanwhile, joined a group called Big Wheel, whose line-up included future Focus member Cyril Havermans. In 1969, a second Q 65 album was released, entitled Revival and made up of singles and latter-day tracks. The music was still powerful and very intense—perhaps too much so—if not as accessible. Had the line-up stayed intact, the group might even have found an audience. They still played well, even if it was experimental in nature (and what blues they played was more psychedelic than classic style). They might've given bands like the Creation a run for their money, but the Q 65 split up at just about this point. The Q 65 reformed in 1970 with Beer Klaasse on drums, and signed to Negram Records, staying together for one year and two LPs, Afghanistan and We Are Gonna Make It, which had a slightly more psychedelic orientation.

The Q 65's line-up changed during the early '70s as Nuyens exited to join Baar in a band called Rainman, while the Q 65 continued with a new line-up, featuring John Frederikz on vocals and Joop van Nimwegan on guitar. The original Q 65 reunited in 1980 and toured that year. The group continued in various configurations throughout the middle of the 1980's. Jay Baar passed away in 1990, but a version of the band, with Wim Bieler as leader, continued playing into 1990's. During the early 1970's, Dutch bands such as Ekseption (Holland's answer to The Nice) began getting a tiny bit of exposure in England and America, and in 1973, the floodgates fairly well opened, albeit briefly, with the chart-topping status of Focus. The Q 65 were around a little too early for their own good, in terms of finding any major exposure in England, much less America, but they were at least as worthy of being heard as any number of better known British bands of the period. (allmusic)

CD 11 You're the Victor2 The Life I Live3 I Despise You4 From Above5 Ain't That Loving You Baby (EP Kjoe Bloes)6 Rambling on My Mind (EP Kjoe Bloes)7 So High I've Been, So Down I Must Fall8 Medusa (Circus)9 Ann10 Sundance11 Don't Let Me Fall12 Sexy Legs13 Love Is Such a Good Thing14 I Just Can't Wait15 Fighting Is Easy16 Hoonana (Kjoe)17 Lady of Love (Willem Bieler & Dambuster)18 Let's RollBonustracks:19 Feel Her Still (mono)20 Ridin' On A Slow Train (Circus - alternative long version)21 From Above (second version)22 Ann (alternative take)

CD 21 And Your Kind2 Cry in the Night3 I Was Young4 No Place to Go (EP Kjoe Bloes)5 80% O (EP Kjoe Bloes)6 It Came to Me7 Where Is the Key8 Mother Motha's Great Sundance (Circus)9 Sour Wine10 World of Birds11 Crumblin'12 There Was a Day13 Night14 We're Gonna Make It15 Country Girl Polydor16 Troubles (Kjoe)17 Are You HomeBonustracks:18 Feel Her Still (stereo)19 Fairy Tales Of Truth (Circus - alternative version)20 Happiness (Willem Bieler)21 I Was Young (without backing vocals)22 From Above (alternative take)

"I play / perform with some guys that call themselves TheBadSeeds from McGregor, TX.The odd thing is I didn’t know there were any other Bad Seeds until the late 1990’s.Way back when in 1968…, we had to stop performing because several of the members had to serve in the Vietnam war [and we didn’t get back together until 1999]. "

"In the past few years we have tried to make up for lost time, and we are really enjoying the music."

It has taken 40 years but theBadSeeds have finally released their original music“The Bad Seeds - Return”. Unlike other bands that “made it big” way back in the 1960’s and 70’s, theBadSeeds had to wait until 2007 for their time in the sun.

TheBadSeeds are a garage band formed by guitarist Allan Jansen in the fall of 1966 at Kilgore College, in Kilgore, Texas. Allan and college roommate and keyboardist Dennis Fehler immediately began the search for band members. Soon, Kilgore classmate and vocalist Larry Drennan joined Allan and Dennis and the beginning of the band formed quickly. During most of the fall of 1966 other Kilgore musicians auditioned but the band didn’t jell until McGregor, Texas High School classmates Skip Spoonts and Mike Rushing joined to play guitar and bass. The last need was for a good drummer. Over the years, theBadSeeds have performed with numerous drummers and the band joked about having to always find a drummer on “short notice.”In Kilgore [Allan’s Freshman year] the band came to be quite popular with the Kilgore Rangerettes, who arranged for theBadSeeds to play at several football pep rallies, a few fraternity and sorority parties, and some private parties as well.

TheBadSeeds play cover music by The Kinks, The Doors, The Animals, Wilson Pickett, The Rolling Stones, The Kingsmen, ZZ Top, Jonny Lang, Jimi Hendrix and many more.

In addition to the cover music, forty years later, theBadSeeds perform many original songs that reflect the youthful 1960’s and chronicle the 21st century with the sounds that are uniquely Bad Seeds. TheBadSeeds – Return is the current album that features sixteen of the best of the best Bad Seeds sounds.

TheBadSeeds - Return1. The 60's (2:53)2. TV2 (3:29)3. All Night Baby (3:04)4. Make Me Feel (2:26)5. The 4 Bar Blues (4:08)6. If I Had Known (3:25)7. Get It (2:48)8. Don't Know (3:12)9. Get In or Get Out (3:05)10. Mad Dog Killer (2:59)11. My Job (2:06)12. Heaven (1:54)13. More or Less (3:18)14. Romeo (2:52)15. You Won't Change (3:36)16. Bo's Place (3:56)

Kevin Ayers is sort of a lesser known musical cousin to Syd Barrett. His distinctive baritone voice exists in the same strange netherworld as Barrett, although Ayers seems much more in control of what he's expressing. Ayers served for one album as the leader of the tripped out and reknown London based Soft Machine (although significantly less reknown than Pink Floyd) and quickly split to start his solo career. Unlike Barrett, Ayers left more for the infamous creative differences, which seems to be accurate in this case. Ayers wanted to explore poppier avenues while the rest of the band soon followed their jazz-fusion, prog-rock muse. And like Barrett's The Madcap Laughs, Ayers created A Joy Of A Toy with the blessing, and even active particiption of his former bandmates.

A Joy Of A Toy has some definite attributes. There is a folkish vibe from the late 60's Cambridge scene audibly present, but Ayers does view into many interesting and sometimes unexpected venues of sound. Ayers' lyrics are uniformily of a high caliber surrealist nature that is worth paying attention to. It's not quite Dylan, but can be quite mindbending. Better yet is Ayers ability to create distinctive musical atmospheres. The are a slew of instruments included in the arrangements of this album including cello, celeste, melodica, Hawaiian guitar, mouth organ, and electronics along with the more conventional rock instrumentation.

A carnival atmosphere begins the album on "Joy Of A Toy Continued," a mostly instumental Soft Machine rewrite that doesn't really resemble its mother song much at all. "The Clarietta Rag" is a full fledged pop song that revises this bouncy feel. "Town Feeling," "The Lady Rachel," and "All This Crazy Gift Of Song" echo, but do not emulate, the acid drenched vibe of Barrett's solo performances. "Girl On A Swing" is truly haunting and provides some truely stirring psychedelic imagery. On Joy Of A Toy, Ayers is much more in control of his facilities than Syd Barrett's somewhat similar solo LPs, but Ayers trades in the mystery of Barrett's unhinged performances for a little more musicality and stability. As I stated before, The Soft Machine's presence is clearly heard and drummer Robert Wyatt provides most of the beats on this album. In fact the floating "Song For Insane Times" features the entire band, and might be considered a Soft Machine band as it contains the complete 1968-1969 line up (who never played together elsewhere as Hugh Hopper was Ayers' replacement).

I've often heard that Ayers is regarded as a bit of a musical slacker. This is hard to dispute on A Joy Of A Toy. The shorter compositions do not at all overstay their welcome, but still tend to rely mostly on a single groove. This becomes a problem on the longer songs. "Stop This Train" comes out on top due to its concept of train travel although the track does not reward close attention. "Oleh Oleh Bandu Bandong" unfortunately more than overstays its welcome. The different iterations of "Religious Experience/Singing A Song In The Morning" in the bonus section are musically pretty cool, but suffers from the fact that Ayers only bothered to write one verse of lyrics.

The bonus tracks here are extremely valuable, and add a considerable amount of music to this 2003 reissue. Among the different versions of "Religious Experience" is an early take that actually features Barrett on lead guitar. His part is slightly disjointed, and absent from the final single, but sounds a lot more together that Barrett's reputation suggests. Also present is "Soon Soon Soon," an album quality outtake and some interesting later versions of "The Lady Rachel."

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Take a bit of the The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Yardbirds with a tiny bit of The Who ; shake them all and put them in a psychedelic environment and you'll have an idea of the sound of the Chocolate Watchband.

The Chocolate Watchband was a mod-outfitted garage punk unit par excellence, their sound founded on English-style R&B with a special fixation on the Rolling Stones at their most sneering. After hooking up with producer Ed Cobb, a former member of the 1950s vocal ensemble the Four Preps, the group released No Way Out in mid-1967, though the Watchband had already begun breaking up. A new incarnation carried them through 1967, though the band's existence as a viable performing unit were all but over. The group's producers had other ideas, however, releasing two more albums (The Inner Mystique, One Step Beyond) in 1968 and 1969 , sporting the band's name but not too much else associated with the group. That would probably have been the end of the group's story, but in the early '80s, record buyers and, more particularly, young musicians discovered the Watchband. A set of Australian reissues of the group's albums quickly found a market in America and Europe. Thus, it was no surprise when, in 1994, Sundazed Records reissued the complete Watchband catalog on compact disc.

Inner Mystique seems to be the Chocolate Watchband album that fans and casual listeners know best, even though it was the one of their three records that was most disconnected from any active incarnation of the group. Slapped together in late 1967, in the wake of the virtual collapse of their lineup and rushed out in February of 1968, its original first side contained not a single note played or sung by the Watchband itself. Instead, engineer Richie Podolor assembled a group of studio musicians, playing a pair of languid psychedelic instrumentals — "Voyage of the Trieste" and "Inner Mystique" — in which the sitar flourishes and flute arabesques hung like jeweled ornaments, sandwiched around a new recording by singer Don Bennett (who'd already supplied some vocals without the group's knowledge or approval on their first album) of "In the Past," the latter a song originally written and recorded by the Florida-based psychedelic-punk band We the People. The second side was comprised of a hodgepodge of superb finished Watchband sides — most notably "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" and "I Ain't No Miracle Worker," mixing punk bravado and angst, which have long been the album's selling points — and outtakes such as "Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go" and "Medication," with Bennett's vocals replacing David Aguilar's, and one remixed and partly redubbed version of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue." As with the group's first album, however, Inner Mystique is sort of "guilty with an explanation" — yes, it's a mess in terms of continuity, with two different singers and three different vocal/instrumental combinations present, but the three full Watchband tracks are killer recordings that can hold their heads up with the best rock records of 1967; what's more, even the Bennett-sung/studio band played "In the Past" is worthwhile, Watchband or not, as a piece of shimmering psychedelia with a great beat and arrangement; and even "Voyage of the Trieste" and "Inner Mystique," as pieces of psychedelic background music, were good enough that one of them ended up on Rhino's Best of the Chocolate Watchband collection. And that's not bad for a 28-minute album with only eight cuts on it, pieced together with only the barest (if any) participation by the band.

The third and final of the original studio albums by the Chocolate Watchband, One Step Beyond is a bit misleading and contradictory. On the one hand, it's as close as any performing group called the Chocolate Watchband ever got to making a finished album of their own, which is reflected in the fact that all but one song here was an original by the bandmembers; but on the other hand, this is a different Watchband lineup, assembled by Sean Tolby and Bill Flores, including guitarist Mark Loomis and drummer Gary Andrijasevich (both of whom had left in 1967 to join the Tingle Guild), and original, Foothill College-era Chocolate Watchband member Danny Phay (who'd also been in the Tingle Guild). Missing is David Aguilar, the band's one-time lead singer and most visible songwriter up to that time — and the result is an album that has almost none of the influence of the Rolling Stones, and, instead, shows the greatest folk-rock influence in their history. The overall sound is brittle but melodic, reminiscent in some ways of the Quicksilver Messenger Service, the Charlatans, Moby Grape, and the Jefferson Airplane. Danny Phay isn't nearly as charismatic a singer as Aguilar, but he's not bad, either, and there are lots of interesting shared vocals. There's also quite a bit more guitar noodling here than on any previous Watchband recording — that's not necessarily a bad thing, though it does dilute some of the impact of the punkier moments. "Devil's Motorcycle" is also of special interest to fans of Moby Grape, as it features the Grape's Jerry Miller subbing for Loomis on lead guitar. They shined on Ashford & Simpson's "I Don't Need No Doctor" as well as the Loomis/Andrijasevich original "Uncle Morris," and "Flowers" was a beautiful piece of folk-based psychedelia, while Sean Tolby's "Fireface" recaptured some of the original band's thicker rock textures. Original Foothill College-era member Ned Torney was also present on the sessions playing keyboards, but his work was left out of the final mix of the album, which meant the guitars got even greater exposure than intended

Any Way That You Want Me/My Generation/Piccadilly Line/I Can OnlyGive You Everything/Baby,Out of Sight/Gotta Get a Move On/She's( Got Plenty ofLove)/Do You Believe/The Snake/I'm Your Hoochie Cooche Man/Get Away

In spite of their name none of the Liverpool Five were from Liverpool!

Dave McCumiskey (aka Dave Burgess) was a Cumbrian, formerly with The Ramrods of Carlisle, which is why they appear on this site. The other lads, Steve Laine, Ron Henley, Jimmy May and Ken Cox, were all Londoners.

The Liverpool Five had more success abroad than in England. They played across Europe in Holland, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In Germany they appeared with the top German band of the time The Rattles and recorded for CBS. It was while they were in Germany that they successfully auditioned to tour Japan and perform at the Tokyo olympics. They played for crowds of six to eight thousand and performed their final gig at the vast K ouraken Ice Palace. While in Japan they also played at the Camp Zama American military base.

The band stopped over in the Philippines on their way back from Japan and played at a party held by the American ambassador.The ambassador was impressed with them and arranged for visas for them to enter the USA to play for the American troops. They performed on several mini tours, appearing with such acts as The Loving Spoonful, Stevie Wonder and the Rolling Stones. The highlight of their American adventure was playing at the Hollywood Bowl with the Beach Boys, The Righteous Brothers, The Byrds, Sam The Sham and the Kinks.

Overall: Archimedes Badkar (Archimedes Bathtub) was a Swedish group formed by percussionist/pianist/composer Per Tjernberg that existed between 1972 -1980.World Music was not yet a household term, but for once that description seems perfect for what Archimedes Badkar must definitely be regarded as one of the pioneering bands. Several of the members had travelled and studied music in North and South India, Morocco, Mali, Ghana and other countries, and several of them were well educated in the languages of jazz and contemporary music.Their style is fairly unique,combines folk, ethnic/traditional music, rock, jazz and even experimental elements.

Archimedes Badkar - II: In this album the band displayed a much wider range of styles.The instrumentation here is half acoustic, half electric.besides guitar, bass, piano/organ and percussion, a wealth of other instruments such as violin, mandolin, trumpet, flutes, cello, bouzouki, saxophones, etc. can be heard.Their music is partly energetic and lively, while other tracks have a much more raga-like drone or even a cosmic, trippy Krautrock vibe.(At my eyes, this album is even better than their superb debut).

Archimedes Badkar - Tre: More sedate tracks follow with references to various ethnic music styles.Maybe ? some of the tracks have a jazzy feel to them as reed instruments are used frequently. Another excellent album showing no signs of compromise or lack of musical ideas.

What still seems unique and fascinating about this band is that there seemed to be NO LIMITS in terms of musical styles and instrumentation. All three albums is highly recommended !!!

At my humble opinion, Archimedes Badkar deserve a place among the 5-6 best bands in Europe. Discover them ...

ReviewThis 23-song compilation shows a group who had the pop sensibilities and range of the Tremeloes, and who could do credible soul covers and more than decent psychedelia, but somehow never developed a distinctive sound of their own. The result is an almost dizzying array of styles, represented by eight singles that were perfectly good records but which seldom sounded like each other. The Bystanders' early sides, from 1965, were heavily Beatles-influenced, their debut recalling the Liverpool quartet's early-1963 recordings, but also displaying smooth pop hooks reminiscent of Herman's Hermits on their better singles. By the time of "Have I Offended the Girl" in 1966, they start to sound more like the early Who vocally, but the other side of the same single is the dramatic pop ballad "My Love -- Come Home," and their next single, "If You Walk Away," is somewhere midway between Unit 4+2 and Tom Jones, while their cover of "98.6" is cheerfully upbeat in a way that recalls Herman's Hermits at their most embarrassingly upbeat. And then they come up with a decent cover of "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" in 1967. Beyond that point, the group turned toward a gentle brand of psychedelic pop, represented by "Royal Blue Summer Sunshine Day," "Pattern People" (where they sound a bit like the Association), and the poppish, upbeat "Green Grass," moving into ethereal psychedelia on the sitar-laden "Cave of Clear Light." And then, just as their history as the Bystanders was coming to an end, they plunge into the Bee Gees-inspired sides "This World Is My World" and "Painting the Time" (think the trio's late-psychedelic era). This CD is filled with moments like that, little pop/rock jewels that are widely scattered and don't exactly spell out a full story of anybody, but are pretty satisfying on their own terms. The disc also includes a brace of unreleased tracks, among them a rocking cover of "Cheryl's Going Home" and interesting renditions of "The Little Girl I Once Knew" (where the harmonies intermingle well with the lean instrumental sound) and "Dang Me," plus the two prizes of the 23 songs here, "My Way of Thinking," a hard-rocking piece of U.K.-style garage rock, and "Grapevine," a blue-eyed soul classic that shows what this group was truly capable of in the way of original songs, when they aimed that high. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

BiographyOne of the few Welsh bands to release records on a fairly regular basis in the mid to late '60s, the Bystanders are chiefly notable not for their own derivative music, but because they evolved into the Welsh progressive rock group Man. As the Bystanders, they managed to release eight singles in the U.K. between 1965 and 1968, competently plugging into Merseybeat, blue-eyed soul, and harmony pop trends without developing any clear vision of their own or landing any superb material. Slight psychedelic hues colored some of their final tracks, which pointed the way into more original and progressive directions that the group would embrace when it mutated into Man.

The Bystanders formed long before the dawn of Man in the South Wales town of Merthyr Tydfil in 1962. They made one Merseybeat-Four Seasons hybrid single for the independent Pylot label (in fact, it was the only record the company ever released) in 1965 before picking up a new manager, George Cooper, who had handled major British pre-Beatles rock singers Joe Brown and Marty Wilde. In 1966 they got a contract with Pye, who put out seven singles by the group over the next couple of years without breaking them as a significant seller.

Perhaps, surprisingly given their later excursions in Man, the Bystanders were very much a pop group, giving the impression of sailing whichever way the wind was blowing, and writing little of their own material. Their early singles showed the pronounced influence of American harmony groups with high vocal lines, such as the Four Seasons, Beach Boys, and lesser known pop acts like the Happenings. In 1967 and 1968 they moved into somewhat more sophisticated, but still poppy, material that recalled the fluff of late '60s California sunshine pop. The group, which had not recorded any of their own compositions prior to 1968 (except on their debut single), finally did write their two final B-sides, which staked out a psychedelic pop direction. With the departure of singer Vic Oakley and the addition of guitarists Deke Leonard and Martin Ace (both from the Dream) in the late '60s, the Bystanders changed their name to Man and embarked on a different course. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

Just like scientists posturing the existence of an unknown particle or detecting a planet through its gravitational pull, you knew this had to exist - a Chicago psychedelic pop-rock album. Okay, maybe you did not know it, but it does exist and if you can accept the fact that the Cryan' Shames never had an original idea in their entire lives, you'll enjoy A Scratch in the Sky. The album succeeds because Fairs and new bassist Larry Kerley did a great job writing hooks, coming up with catchy melodies, and getting the group's vocal harmonies into shape. Instead of the Byrds, the Chicagoans now echoed West Coast harmony groups like the Beach Boys and the Association, as well as British psychedelia. So, the group gathered up every conceivable instrument they could play, and went on a psychedelic pop-rock binge. A Scratch in the Sky is not a masterpiece by any means, but it was more cutting edge than Paul Revere and the Raiders ever got. The band's flexibility is apparent, from happy little tunes like "The Town I'd Like to Go Back To" and the cosmopolitan "In the Cafe," to more Beach Boys influenced songs like "It Could Be We're In Love." The group had enough chops to successfully venture into more rock territory ("Sunshine Psalm" and the humorous "Dennis Dupree from Danville") and their psychedelic jams are rather, erm, pretty (the intricate "The Town I'd Like to Go Back To"). Fairs and Kerley just cranked out a pile of fine pop songs such as "A Carol for Lorelei", "In the Cafe", "Cobblestone Road" and the tripped out "The Sailing Ship," among those already mentioned, and the band's playing is credible and detailed enough to enable the Fairs/Kerley songwriting team to present all this without it coming off as crude. Sure, there is plenty of outright copying: "Mr. Unreliable" is a fine Beatles knockoff and "I Was Lonely When" is a dead-on impression of a Marty Balin led Jefferson Airplane track, and there's an unnecessary cover of the Goffin/King "Up on the Roof". Still, if you like psychedelic pop-rock (or think you might) check this out - it's rather good, even if unoriginal. (Isaac Guillory (guitar) replaced Stone as well.)

This album is an unbelievable classic from the late sixties from many listeners' point of view.

The sound signature is very dark and leaves a reliable understanding of just how powerful the physics of music can be. It leaves you to believe the sounds are unearthly and allows you to enter a temporary state of mechanic fixedness with...well, everything! In terms of physics involving sound and music, technically this album leaves a permanent vacuum of a genre as in there's no sound in a vacuum, but this album breaks that rule because this a one of a kind genre breaking album that creates and thrives in it's own vacuum of musical space. The atmosphere and sounds produced were something I think would be hard to equal today even with all the technical equipment they have now. It still gives me the shivers just to think about it. Like many others I found it difficult to listen to the Visitation and could only rarely listen to Black Mass (and NEVER alone).

An extraordinary mixture of 60's type light pop (Game of Loving), tongue-in-cheek "Here come the Fleas" and truly frightening second side (and I mean frightening! ). Nothing is simple here though. Even the so-called light stuff is infused with fabulously vivid melody/harmony. I bought this on vinyl back in the early '70's. I've yet to hear any of the subsequent albums. Get this album !

White Noise was really one David Vorhaus (b,sc,dip.elec) American born, son of a black-listed film director. He avoided the draft by coming to the UK. Later he became a post graduate doing an electronics degree at the Northern Poly whilst studying classical music playing the double bass. After having attended a lecture by the group Unit Delta Plus, Vorhaus was compelled to combine his love of music with his scientific background and start making his own music. At the time Unit Delta Plus were Brian Hodgson and Delie Derbyshire who were persuaded to collaborate with Vorhaus on his early recordings whilst they continued their day jobs at the BBC's radio phonic workshop, itself a shrine to new electronic music and birthplace of the famous Dr. Who theme. After recording two tracks on a six-revox set up all synchronised by one remote control, (i.e. the mains on/off switch), Vorhaus found himslef introduced by chance to Island Records' Chris Blackwell. Chris was so captivated by the white noise experience that he shunned their appeal for a one-off singles deal and demanded that they do a whole album of material. An instant cheque for £3,000 quenched their fears about not earning a quick buck through a hit single and our band of merry pranksters set about building theur own sonic laboratiry in London's Camden Town out of 'borrowed' gear, home made gizmos and equipment more assiciated with a scince lab than a recording studio. 'Songs' took ages to build, each note being a compilation of various tape edits painstakingly stuck together. After a year Island Records became nervous and demanded a conclusion in a matter of days which, luckily, White Noise managed to pull off. The album was released in a total vacuum. Vorhaus played no gigs and did no interviews. Word of mouth over many years caused this album to sell tens of thousands of records. Like stablemates Art and Nirvana, this album remained on catalogue deep into the seventies and became the hit of many a bedroom and sicth form commonroom. Five years after its release Vorhaus made a second album on Virgin and a third in 1980 for the Pulse label. He continues to make music, a good deal for film and television work, and threatens a new album for the nineties. One album per decade is hardly a Prince-like output but when the quality is this high does it really matter?

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

A west coast rock band with a lot of psychedelic and sunshine pop elements.

These pioneering San Francisco psych band flower-poppers mixed pop with Jazz with a little Indian meeting Vaudeville on these blissed out grooves Seminal material.

Tracks

1. Hello, Hello2. Frantic Desolation3. Saga Of The Low Down Let Down4. Little Orphan Annie5. You Always Tell Me Baby6. Maybe In A Dream7. Cellophane Woman8. Things That I Could Do With You, The9. Walk In The Park10. Great Morpheum, The11. Postcard From Jamaica12. Treadin' - (bonus track)

The Sopwith Camel's eponymous debut is a tepid, under-produced effort that alternates between strained pastiches of pre-World War II pop and lukewarm San Francisco folk-rock/psychedelia. "You Always Tell Me Baby" is an affecting folk-rock number, but played and produced as though it's a rehearsal demo; "Maybe in a Dream" and "Cellophane Woman" have some psychedelic guitar riffs that sound more gratuitous than inspired; and the hit "Hello, Hello" is here, although it's not really any better than most of the rest of the album. The One Way reissue adds a bonus cut with a Byrds-like guitar on "Treadin'," that counts as one of their better tracks.

Formed in 1966, the Sopwith Camel was the second San Francisco band to be signed by a major record company right after Jefferson Airplane and before the Grateful Dead. They might also have been the first San Francisco group to break up, disbanding after only one album and a "wildly commercial" single "Hello, Hello."

The Sopwith Camel began in a San Francisco bookstore when Terry MacNeil met Peter Kraemer. Peter had been writing poetry for some time and, remembers Terry, "I met him at the Big Little Bookstore on Polk Street. He was bopping around with some lyrics he'd written. 'Well,' I told him, 'I play guitar.' We got together at a party later that evening and again the next day." A month later they decided to audition musicians for a group.

With Norman Mayell and Martin Beard the band was together and it was time to choose a name. Peter just happened to have one available. "A while earlier, I had been living at Chet Helms' house. He had a band that he was trying to launch, and we all came up with names for it. My idea was Sopwith Camel. Everybody laughed at me; they thought it was trite and dumb. Their band was finally named Big Brother and the Holding Company. Ours became the Sopwith Camel."

Because the Camel shared the same label and producer (and similar musical tastes) with the Lovin' Spoonful, most people thought they were from New York. Their friends in San Francisco groups "accused us of being sellouts. That's absurd; back in those days, we were all looking for hits. It's just that ours was the first." The Camel's big return to San Francisco met with disaster. "We were headlining over the Airplane and the Dead. The Dead did one of their long, long sets, and by the time we were on, we were only able to do three tunes before the cops pulled the plugs before curfew. We took it to be a sign of some sort."Before that, the Camel had toured the country, appearing with the Rascals, the Rolling Stones, the Who and, of course, the Lovin' Spoonful. They even wrote and performed a couple of commercials for Levis. But finally inner frustrations disbanded the group; there wasn't even time to record an album to capitalize on "Hello, Hello." It wasn't until several months later that they got together in the studio and assembled enough tracks for an album before finally going separate ways.Download Link :